[Illustration: FIGURE 123] This brass plate is a duplicate of the preceding, lacking only the hand-applied stars. The crispness of detail indicates that it was one of the very early products of the die. CAP PLATE, C. 1825 _USNM 60269-M (S-K 27). Figure 124._ [Illustration: FIGURE 124] The second variation of the series is a product of perhaps the best executed die of the group, with unusually fine detail in the eagle's wings and with neatly stacked cannon balls at the bottom of the center device. It includes other excellent detail not found in other dies: an eagle-head pommel on one sword, a star pattern made of smaller stars in the cantons of the flags, and crossed cannon, rammer, and worm behind the Federal shield. It is struck in brass. CAP PLATE, C. 1825 _USNM 60297-M (S-K 55). Figure 125._ [Illustration: FIGURE 125] A tall, slender, rather graceless eagle with broad wings and erect head reminiscent of the Napoleonic eagle is the outstanding difference in this third example of the series. The floral border lacks a finished look because the plate, which is of brass, was apparently hand trimmed. CAP PLATE, C. 1825 _USNM 60270-M (S-K 28). Figure 126._ [Illustration: FIGURE 126] This fourth variation, of silver-on-copper, bears an eagle with very small legs (somewhat out of proportion), an erect head, a fierce mien, and a heavy round breast. The design is struck on a shield-plate with the exact measurements as on one of the riflemen series. CAP PLATE, MUSICIAN, C. 1825 _USNM 60302-M (S-K 60). Figure 127._ [Illustration: FIGURE 127] The oldest known plate made expressly for musicians, this silver-on-copper, floral-bordered shield bears an eagle similar to one for riflemen of the same period (see fig. 116). Among the early musical instruments easily identifiable in the design are the tambor, the serpent, the French horn, and the rack of bells. Such a plate was undoubtedly a stock pattern, available in either gilt or silver finish, and was probably sold well into the 1840's. The reverse is fitted with what appears to be a contemporary plume socket, although resoldered, and two simple wire fasteners. CAP PLATE, MUSICIAN, C. 1835 _USNM 6030-M (S-K 61A). Figure 128._ [Illustration: FIGURE 128] This gilded brass plate, while not as old as the preceding one, is of an unusual pattern. Made for New York State Militia, it carries the eagle-on-half-globe device at the top. The central design includes a French horn, a serpent, and a straight horn, all intertwined about an open roll of sheet music. It is probably a stock pattern. The reverse is fitted with three simple bent-wire fasteners. CAP PLATE, C. 1830 _USNM 60250-M (S-K 8). Figure 129._ [Illustration: FIGURE 129]